By Glenn Rolfe

GEORGETOWN — For Joseph L. Thomas, there won’t be any more early-morning powwows to make calls about closures, delays or evacuations amid major weather emergencies.

After 36 years and three months of service with the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center — almost 27 years as director — Mr. Thomas is retiring.

His last day on the job is March 28.

“It’s going to kind of be a little bit surreal for me, … going out the door and knowing that, ‘OK, it’s no longer my responsibility.’ I’ve been so accustomed to being involved in a lot of different conversations for over 26 years, and walking away and knowing that I no longer have to do that, it is going to be different. I’m not going to lie. But also, I think it’s time, the right time.”

Mr. Thomas began as a part-time dispatcher in December 1986. He became a full-time employee a year later. Nearly 10 years on, he became the director.

He recalls saying to his wife, Brenda Thomas, “I am going to apply to be the director. But I’m going to tell you, ‘Now, the longest a director has ever been with the county is 10 years, so in 10 years, I’m going to have to find a new job.’”

That didn’t happen.

“It will be 27 years ago May 1,” Mr. Thomas said. “I never imagined that I would be director for this long.”

At Tuesday’s County Council meeting, leaders recognized Mr. Thomas, whose role includes leading the 911 dispatch center.

He was presented a tribute and a plaque, awarding his “devotion, loyalty and excellence in serving Sussex County.”

“One of the things that, as an administrator, you get to do when a storm is coming is to sit out at the EOC and literally watch the teamwork,” said county administrator Todd Lawson. “Through Joe’s leadership, you created quite a legacy. The county, our residents, our visitors alike were better off with you as director when situations happened, and we had to react to it, especially storm situations, whether it’s hurricanes or snow situations.”

Council President Michael Vincent agreed.

“Certainly, on behalf of council, thank you for the great job. And certainly, our residents benefit from that,” he said.

Among Mr. Thomas’ most memorable situations, he said, were helping coordinate emergency and government resources for large-scale events, including back-to-back nor’easters in 1998, two blizzards in 2010, Hurricane Irene in 2011, Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and the deadly EF3 tornado in the Greenwood/Bridgeville area April 1, 2023.

“Joe and I spent many mornings on the phone with President Vincent at 4 o’clock to decide whether or not to close the county or delay the opening because of the weather. I’m sure you’re going to miss the 4 o’clock phone calls,” Mr. Lawson said. “But truly, your leadership, especially in those times of emergency, … you were in charge of protecting our citizens, the residents and visitors alike during those circumstances.”

Mr. Thomas recalled that it was fortunate Sussex didn’t take direct hits from Irene or Sandy.

“The forecast had it coming straight at us, and then, we got glancing blows,” he said. “In 2011, we sheltered 1,500 people. In 2012, we sheltered 700. People get that complacency. That has always been the big challenge for us, is people being complacent and not thinking that it is going to happen here.”

When Mr. Thomas started as director, 911 dispatchers were taking 57,000 calls a year and sending fire/emergency medical services out 15,000 times annually.

In comparison, “last year, we did 124,000 911 calls and dispatched 104,000 police, fire and EMS calls. So, that’s where we’ve come from in 27 years,” he said.

“I won’t miss the hand-wringing over whether and how to evacuate or the early-morning calls during a snowstorm to assess road conditions or the sleepless nights worrying about the ‘what if’ scenarios of emergency management,” Mr. Thomas said. “But I will miss the people sitting at the table who have helped make this job and this journey easier in all my years. Those are the friendships and connections that are most special and endure well after the cleanup from a disaster has ended.”

He went on to emphasize that it’s not been a one-man show but a team effort.

“I couldn’t do it by myself. I am the director, and I am the one that they all point the finger at,” Mr. Thomas said. “This group behind me, most of us have been together for almost 20 years. You’ve got to have a great team behind you. You have to be able to hand off things and know it is going to be done, and this group behind me has been great to work with. We jokingly say we are second family, and we truly are.”

Mr. Thomas thanked County Council — both current and past — for its support. During his tenure, he worked with all four county administrators — Joseph Conaway, Bob Stickels, David Baker and Mr. Lawson.

“The county administration and council, from a budget standpoint, has always been very supportive of us, as long as we have been able to identify the need,” he continued.

Some milestones during his directorship include the construction of a state-of-the-art emergency complex in 2008, which expanded to house the EMS offices last year; the adoption of technologies to better assist the public during emergencies, like text-to-911 and the Smart911 service; an increase in staff and the implementation of a call-taker model that more efficiently handles the growing number of service calls; and international accreditation while being ranked 24th among 4,100 priority dispatch centers worldwide in 2023.

“I feel like we’ve done a lot of good things. We put Sussex County on the map with our Emergency Operations Center/dispatch center,” said Mr. Thomas. “We always try to stay on top of technology. We are known across the country for some of the things that we do. ... That is one of the things that I am very proud of, is that ... we’ve always tried to stay at the front of technology, looking for the next thing, making sure that our dispatch system has got the latest upgrades.”

Councilman Vincent, a past fire company chief himself, added, “Joe knows the fire service, the emergency management business and what it takes to provide public safety services to the people of Sussex County. ... I have no doubt the gains our EOC has made and the lessons learned over the years will help carry us through the next storm, as Joe, hopefully, gets to enjoy clear skies and calm seas in the retirement years ahead.”

Mr. Lawson said the county hopes to fill the emergency manager position in the coming weeks, well ahead of the hurricane season. Mr. Thomas will assist part time as needed during the transition.

Now, family first

As director, Mr. Thomas’ work took him away from his wife and their five children and nine grandchildren. For example, during last year’s tornado, he had to forgo babysitting his 8-month-old granddaughter.

“For 26 years, I have had to, sometimes, put the job in front of the family. Now, I get to put the family first. I am looking forward to that,” he said.

Retirement plans

Mr. Thomas has travel goals with his wife, as well as a desire to stay on the racing circuit with his oldest son, who owns a speed parts business and has developed a sponsorship for dirt track driver Matt Sheppard.

A member of the Laurel Fire Department, Mr. Thomas also may entertain working for a consulting firm specializing in emergency operation.